NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabh Rahul Gandhi on Sunday slammed the Union Budget 2026-27, calling it “blind to India’s real crises” and accusing the government of ignoring deep economic distress faced by ordinary citizens.In a post on X, the Leader of the Opposition laid out what he described as the country’s pressing problems: “Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks – all ignored.” He added that it was “a Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India’s real crises.”Gandhi’s remarks came soon after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive Budget, in which she raised the capital expenditure target to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27, up from Rs 11.2 lakh crore in the current fiscal. The Budget also outlined infrastructure measures, including projects in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, against a backdrop of global uncertainty, trade frictions and slowing exports.Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also slammed the budget, arguing that the government lacked both ideas and direction. “The Modi Government has run out of ideas. Budget2026 does not provide a single solution to India’s many economic, social, and political challenges,” he wrote. In another post, Kharge said, “‘Mission Mode’ is now ‘Challenge Route’. Reform Express rarely stops at any ‘Reform’ Junction. Net result: NO policy vision, NO political will.”He also pointed to rural distress and inequality. “Our Annadata Farmers still await meaningful welfare support or an income security plan. Inequality has surpassed the levels seen under the British Raj, but the Budget does not even mention it,” Kharge said, adding that states under financial stress had not been offered relief and that “Federalism has become a casualty”.
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